African Paradise Safaris guide
Paradise in Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $180 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NZ
Email Yvonne & Jim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tanzania a trip of a lifetime. APS the Company and the People that ensure this is true.
We began the search for our African Adventure by browsing the wonderful website of Safari Bookings.
Thanks Safari Bookings for such a great resource.
Our "once in a lifetime" safari holiday to Tanzania started the moment we contacted African Paradise Safaris (APS). John Peter gave exceptional help and advice as we put together our trip, with his help we were able to customize our holiday so that it was the right fit for our party of 4. After best part of a year in planning and numerous enjoyable emails back and forth with John Peter, it was a little disappointing to realise we would not meet this man who had put together a fantastic itinerary for us.
Thanks Heaps John Peter.
We were met a Kilimanjaro airport by our driver / guide David. A better guide we couldn't have hoped for. His passion, care & knowledge for the wildlife - his "eagle eye" for spotting animals hidden to our inexpert eye - his personality and sense of humour and his attention to all the little details of our trip meant we had a safari experience way beyond our expectations. A very special man.
Thanks Heaps David....
And last a MASSIVE thank you to the most amazing animals for just being you...
Tanzania is a "once in a lifetime holiday" and the wonderful people at APS made that come true
We began our search for an African Adventure by scrolling through awesome information and advise on Safari Bookings website. A great place to begin. Thanks Safari Bookings.
Then our "once in a lifetime" safari holiday to Tanzania really began to come true the moment we contacted African Paradise Safaris (APS). John Peter gave exceptional help and advice as we put together our trip, with his help we were able to customize our holiday so that it was the right fit for our party of 4. After best part of a year in planning and numerous enjoyable emails back and forth with John Peter, it was a little disappointing to realise we would not meet this man who had put together a fantastic itinerary for us.
Thanks Heaps John Peter.
We were met a Kilimanjaro airport by our driver / guide David. A better guide we couldn't have hoped for. His passion, care & knowledge for the wildlife - his "eagle eye" for spotting animals hidden to our inexpert eye - his personality and sense of humour and his attention to all the little details of our trip meant we had a safari experience way beyond our expectations. A very special man.
Thanks Heaps David....
And last a MASSIVE thank you to the most amazing animals for just being you...
NZ
Email Brett | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Untrue and dishonest to secure our budged joining safari booking
In Aug 2023 my wife and I signed with African Paradise Safaris (APS) to join a 6-day budget safari of Masai Mara, Nakuru and Amboseli National Parks. We loved the parks, saw plenty of animals, and enjoyed the park environments. We were very disappointed with the arrangements made by APS, the blatant untruths told to us in order to secure our safari booking, and the unprofessional manner in which they avoided addressing issues that we had regarding their safari arrangements.
Prior to arriving in Kenya, APS was very communicative in answering all of my questions. On the basis of the information they provided, we signed up to join their budget safari. Unfortunately, it turned out that a lot of the information provided to us was completely untrue.
APS guaranteed that we would be in a safari van with a maximum of 6 passengers, but the van had 8 seats and 8 passengers, which makes the small van too crowded, particularly when you are trying to stand on the game drives. It also means that at least two people sit in the middle, without direct access to a window.
We were told that the safari would be operated by APS and not by another company. On the day, APS was nowhere to be seen, and we were told that we were joining a safari operated by Big Time Safaris. There were people from 3 different safari companies in the van, all with different itineraries. When we raised these issues with Big Time Safaris, they told us to contact the safari companies that we had booked with. (APS).
We were told by APS that all participants in the safari would stay with the safari throughout. This wasn't true, with some people leaving the safari at different points.
We were told by APS that everyone would be staying the same accommodation on the safari (so time wouldn't be wasted picking people up before the game drives). This wasn't true. People were staying in up to three different lodges and both budget and moderate accommodation each night.
In our itinerary we paid for 7 game drives. 3 at Maasai Mara, 1 at Nakuru and 3 at Amboseli. Our safari van broke down on two occasions, taking a total of 5 hours to repair on the roadside. As a result, two evening game drives in Masai Mara and Nakuru were shorter than they should have been. Due to changes to the itinerary as a result of vehicle repairs, and to changes in Masai Mara ticketing fees that were not communicated to us by APS, we missed a further two game drives completely - 1 in Masai Mara, and one in Amboseli. When we brought all of these issues up with African Paradise Safaris, they completely ignored us, and would not correspond with us regarding all the misinformation they had provided, the issues with the vehicle, or the missed game drives. In fact, we never met or saw any APS staff at any time either before or after our safari. The other members of our safari were met by staff from their companies at the drop off in Nairobi and at least one received some compensation for their missed game drives. APS was nowhere to be seen.
APS have many great reviews and I suspect that if we had booked a private safari with African Paradise, our experience would have been completely different, but be aware that if you are booking a budget joining safari, there is a good chance that APS will tell you whatever they think will secure a safari booking, but it will not necessarily be the truth. I would recommend you look for a more trustworthy company for a joining safari.
CA
Email Brian Jeffay | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing photographic journey. A wonderful and professional tour company.
After careful research and having talked to a person who previously did a safari organized with Peter, I decided this was the company I wanted to use. I did a messenger video chat with Peter and explained my interest in photography. He organized a 3 week trip in Kenya and Tanzania taking into account my wishes. It was all spectacular from start to finish. Our driver Davido went above and beyond to accommodate our small group of 3. He made sure we saw all the animals up close.
A couple things to keep in mind. A very good camera will definitely make the experience totally awesome.
The roads between parks and in the parks are at times an adventure.
The lodges that were booked were all clean , safe and relaxing.
If you sleep with a cpap, be sure to point that out in advance. Places will make arrangements for that. Otherwise in some places the power might not function overnight.
Africa is not like North America or Europe. Don't compare , just enjoy it. Please feel free to contact me for any additional information. Brian
*** Photos are just a few from my trip.
US
Email Thomas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
John Peter and Davido(guide) make a great team. They were the reason why we had such a great time!
We had organized a Kenya/Tanzania tour with African Paradise Safaris back in June of 2020, but because of Covid we had to postpone the trip until a year later. It was a 12 day safari where we visited Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Amboseli. John Peter who helped us organize this trip was extremely communicative throughout the entire process. He responded to emails in less than 24 hours and addressed all our concerns and catered our trip to fit our needs. He gave us great confidence in his company and got us excited for our trip!
Davido was our guide/driver during our time in Kenya and was one of the reasons our trip was so incredible. He was so attentive, calm and educational throughout the entire trip. He clearly has built a great reputation amongst his peers and has a great network of people he works with during the game drives to ensure you find the best animals. His eyes are always scouting the area for something to see. His knowledge of the animals was very extensive. He helped guide us through customs during Covid times and always made sure we felt safe. We had to take multiple covid tests to cross borders. This process was new for all parties and Davido handled all situations like a professional. There is no problem that can't be solved. Hakuna Matata!
Stay in the tented camps!
I fully recommend this company!
NL
Email Katie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing and magical experience - super flexible provider
The Safari was absolutely incredible, we loved every minute of it and wish we could have done more. Davido was a great tour guide, and we'd recommend him to anyone - super attentive and catered to the type of adventure we were looking for. John Peter who helped us plan everything was so flexible and had abundant patience (trust me, I changed our Giraffe Manor booking 4 times). Thanks for this incredible experience!!
DE
Email Heike | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good tour operator
We had a fantastic time on our 12-day safari in Kenya and Tanzania. Everything was completely well organized, the accommodations were amazing and the driver guides tried to show us as much as possible during the game drives and, if possible, to respond to our requests. We would always book again with African Paradise Safaris and we can recommend this company to anyone who also wants to do a safari tour.
FR
Email Wiljopann | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip with great service
Our 14 days Kenya-Tanzania Safari Tour organized by African Paradise Safaris was great and unforgettable!
The itinerary prepared by John Peter for our family trip is so completed. We did enjoy very much!
We had the best guides and drivers: Isa and Salomon. They took care of us and handled everything with care. They are very professional.
They are the ambassadors of Kenya and Tanzania.
Isa and Salomon know all the parks by memory, they brought us to see every animal. We saw National Geographic for real during the game drives.
We recommend their service to everyone!
US
Email Mark | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Do not do business with African Paradise Safaris
I bought a 7-day 6-night group safaris from African Paradise Safaris. It turned out there was no such safaris.
They subcontracted my safaris to Africa Natural Safaris, which does not have a license to operate. I was shuffled between 4 different safaris groups in seven days. It was a disaster. Do not do business with this company
Reply from Paradise in Africa Safaris
Posted on Jun 18, 2018Dear Mr Adam,
Thank you very much for the review. I apologies for not meeting your safari expectation.
When you wrote to me in regards to the service. Yes I advised you that I sub contracted Africa Natural safaris. One thing in Tanzania - If you are not registered tour operator your vehicle cannot entered National parks. So the Africa Natural Safaris is a registered tour operator.
You mentioned well that the tour was good and the problem was breakdown of communication. In budget joining tour, some time you might join 2 or more groups going in the same area.
Initially remember the package I sent to you, you were to do 2 nights in Serengeti but when Geoffrey came to take collect the payment. You changed and stated you want a tour which will have 3 nights in Serengeti. And it was few hour (less than 15hrs) to the departure time. Now we had to joining you to the group you had requested initially, And because we had another group extending in Serengeti we joined you to the other group - so that we can satisfy you staying 3 nights in Serengeti National Park.
You changing the program last minute when company representative is collecting the payment, made everything out of order. In which the services was provided, the problem was joined in several group which was a result of you changing the program, less than 15 hour to the departure time.
I listen to your dissatisfaction and we refunded you all the profit we made for your package- which was delivered by Jacob under my instruction.
Email |Pamela | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Holiday of a lifetime
Wow, wow, wow if the only way to describe our holiday. I will admit we were advised by many people not to book through a non-UK company - even our usual travel agent received a message from his Kenyan agent advising us to go with a known company. O|h we are so glad we didnt. Right from the start we received emails from John who helped us tailor make our own private safari adapted from APS 12 day Classical Safari. He helped us with our visa application and answered all our questions - of which there were many - within 2 hours. 48 hrs before we left we received an email telling us the name of the driver collecting us from the airport & how we would recognise him. The first morning John himself came to meet us & introduced us to our fantastic driver/guide Lawrence and went through the entire itinerary with us.
Lawrence was absolutely amazing and spotted lions, a leopard, elephants & cape buffalo on our very first drive - not to mention the hippos, giraffes, zebras etc, etc. We had to wait 3 days before we saw the rhinos!!!! Having Lawrence for the entire trip was fantastic, we learnt so much from him, not only about the animals but Kenyan culture and particularly his tribe. Lawrence ate most of his meals with us, which we really enjoyed as he was so much fun and informative. When we were on the drives if there was a bird he didnt' know he immediately looked it up in either his much used book or on his phone and if we asked him anything about an animal he also looked that up for us to give us even more information, although his knowledge was unbelievable. The advantage of it being just the 2 of us is we could change the itinerary on a daily basis - morning drives instead of evening or vice versa - and opted to have 2 half day drives rather than 1 full day - Lawrence was so good at assessing our needs and ensuring we got the very best out of the days - bearing in mind we are both in our 70's so not as agile as some.
The lodges we stayed at were very diverse but all were comfortable and clean , with an excellent choice of food - all but 3 meals were buffet style. Yes the roads on the safaris left a lot to be desired - but hey what do you expect on a safari, we are on unmade roads looking for animals in their environment not ours.
Some of the journeys between the parks were up to 8 hours - however the scenery was so varied the time just passed fast. The jeep itself wasnt the newest but I would be surprised if even the most up-to-date one would lessen the bumps, but again it was reliable, gave us absolutely amazing views and allowed us to get close up to the animals, so what is there to complain about?
The only glitches over the whole 15 days was one hotel where the room was more like a prison cell - this was sorted within 15 minutes with John being contacted & resulting in us being transferred to a neighbouring hotel and on arrival in Nairobi the hotel had a booking but with different names, however another quick call - and this was 11.00pm - by the taxi driver to John and it was sorted.
We paid our deposit on booking and the balance on arrival - again we were warned in the UK that this was dicey and what happened if there was no-one to meet us on arrival. Unfortunately we took American dollars some of which were issued before 2007 & therefore not accepted in Kenya. "No problem we will sort it when you re back" When we returned to Nairobi John didnt have his card reader with him, so believe it or not, we didnt pay him until we returned to the UK when I sent him a bank transfer.
To say we were warned about using a Kenyan company rather than a local UK company I have never met the owner of our usual tour company, never had email replies within 2 hours, never had hotels/rooms sorted in 10 minutes and NEVER EVER paid for a holiday on my return. Additionally I then received an email from John asking if we had returned home safely and hoping we had enjoyed the holiday.!!!
Thank you again John and Lawrence you promised us the holiday of a lifetime and you certainly gave us that - even with the bumpy roads and Lawrence not finding me my penguin!!!!!!!!!!
